In denying reports that her cabinet had decided to hold elections in November 2023 (see related story), St. Maarten Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs confirmed that the possibility of moving them up due to Christmas is being looked at. That would also mean ending the current Parliament’s current four-year term two months early.
Advice was reportedly sought and with good reason. Unscheduled votes normally follow dissolution of the sitting legislature by government, usually after the latter loses majority support. This has led to a legal debate throughout the Dutch Caribbean whether that is a correct use of this possibility created to prevent the country from becoming ungovernable by Councils of Ministers on their way out.
Another problem with these “snap elections” is that they affect the timing of going to the polls, which is what led to the present apparently inconvenient January 2024 date in the first place. Established terms in both the Constitution and Electoral Regulation must be considered.
So, while having the campaign for a next one before rather than during the holiday season makes sense from a practical and religious point of view, more electoral confusion than already experienced over the past few years is best avoided. Certainly, opposition members can be expected to object, creating a whole new discussion over applying basic democratic principles.
Whether the thus-predictable controversy is worth it will ultimately be up to the Jacobs II Cabinet and NA/UP/USP/Arrindell coalition backing such to determine. However, this probably won’t go down without at least some noise.
